Monday, April 12, 2010

I love me some Freelove

Not much to post about this time around.  Just some progress pictures of Freelove Hazard.

Freelove Hazard by the Scarlet Letter
45ct Vintage Examplar
AVAS fibers

It may look like the bird and the two side flowers/leaves on top have no color, but it's a light pink that's hard to see in the picture.

 


Haven't gotten anymore quilting done for two reasons.  One, that little neck problem I mentioned last time.  I didn't want to aggravate it and it felt aggravated.  So I gave the quilting a break to recover. 

Second, I found a cozy space for my quilting stuff.  Yay!  (That's not the reason I haven't done any sewing.  I'll come to that, I promise.)   Loretta, my old friend from way back when, asked why I wasn't using the large, spacious dining table in our back room to set up my sewing.  Well, old friend, you haven't seen our large, spacious dining table, nor the back room, for quite a while!  lol!  The dining table has (still has for that matter) large piles of mail, magazines, etc from my beloved father type all over it.  And there are extra pieces of furniture back there that used to not be there in the old days.  But I decided that Loretta was right -- there would be lots of space back there for my little Featherweight and my ironing board if I just did a bit of work.  So I did!  I cleared enough space in the back room and the dining table so that I could set things up and not have to worry about moving it all every time we eat.  Yay!  


(If you look closely, you can see some of the piles of mail etc from cute father types still on the table.)

Why can't I sew away then, you ask?  Well, reason number two, besides reason number one (the neck), is that the back room gets cold.  We actually shut it up in late fall, winter and early spring so that the heater won't have to work overtime.  (We have another dining table in the livingroom for the winter season.)  And the weather has cooled off again so the back room is shut off for part of the day until it warms up.  So that's the other reason I haven't been sewing.  But reason number one is the main reason.  :D  Also reason number 3 -- feeling overwhelmed by the number of 9 patch blocks I have to tackle.  lol!   I've been thinking that maybe I should make one of the simpler quilts on my list first and sew my strip sets once in a while in the meantime.  We'll see.

In other news, remember how I told you that the girl child is  a last minute kinda girl?  Well, she proved it yet again.  Friday afternoon around 2:30, she emailed (didn't call, just emailed) asking if it would be ok if she came home that evening.  She said she would probably be home by 10pm.  Talk about short notice!  So home she came for the weekend.  It was nice seeing her again, especially since she'd missed out on Easter.  We even got to go see Alice in Wonderland, although not in 3D.  Which was fine by me, personally.   She's back at college again now.  Not much longer till she'll be home for the summer!

The boy child had his rehearsal with the pianist Friday evening in preparation for his NYSSMA All State audition.  I think both he and I were pleasantly surprised with how well it went.  I'm feeling much better about his chances for doing well now come this Friday.  And I think both the boy child and I are looking forward to NYSSMA being over and done with.  Just one last push to the finish and then we can relax!  I did find out something I hadn't known.  If you make All State, not only do you do the All State concert.  You also do the Area All State concert, which the boy child did last fall.  So two concerts!  I haven't mentioned this to the boy child.  I'm hoping at this point that he makes Area All State and not even thinking about All State!  

Finally, head on over to Edgar's blog.  If you do,  you can enter his 3 year blogoversary giveaway.  I always love reading Edgar's blog, Blacksheep's Bit of the Web.   

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi!  I hope you all have a great week!

36 comments:

Glenna said...

I just love the colors on Freelove! I know exactly what you mean about the combination of mail on the table (we have that too even though I try to whittle it down!) and being overwhelmed by the size of a task that puts me off doing some sewing. In my case, I have some lovely designer fabric I picked up for a song on ebay--yards and yards of it--which will someday be throw pillows for the living room or curtains for the guest room or both, but I can't decide, and I have to get lining material for curtains and hang the brackets and rods, etc., etc., and it all seems so complicated and exhausting that I spend my time stitching instead, which is not an altogether bad thing.

BeckySC said...

Lovely progress...this is going to be such a beautiful Sampler!!!
Have a great week and thanks SO much for stopping by my blog :)

the striped rose said...

Freelove looks great! I love that crimson on the yellow flowers.

Giovanna said...

You're doing great on Freelove - what a beautiful border!

Loraine said...

Wow, what another beautiful sampler! Love your little sewing space that you made for yourself. That should keep you happy, and busy for a while, when it warms up, that is!
Glad your daughter could come home for a visit. What did you think of AinW? I have not wanted to see that one yet. Tim Burton is a little too "out there" for me.
Hugs.

Unknown said...

Margaret, you are making wonderful progress on this one - I jumped over to SL to see the finished product - it is just lovely!

So many of my friends have the same issue with the DR table becoming a catch-all. I made sure that didn't happen at our house. I keep the table set at all times. It has a tablecloth, placemats, china, cloth napkins, and the silverware - definitely no room for anyone's junk, lol. I change the china out depending on the time of year. My grandmother's stays on thru the winter and then we switch to DH grandmother's china for spring and summer as it is a pretty floral print.

How fun to have your daughter home for the weekend! Summer will be here before we know it.

I am so glad to hear that your son is doing well with practice and I'm sure he'll make state - he is so talented!

Enjoy your day!

Isabelle said...

Your stithcing is coming along gorgeous with these beautiful silks : the border looks really great and I think it will be a very nice Sampler .
It is a good thing to have its personal space to sew and do many other thing without moving everything :-))
Happy stitching Margaret ,
Isa

Deb said...

Darn you Margaret! I'm going to have to add Freelove to my stash list! LOL I love it! Funny how you see patterns and think, well, they're okay. And then you see someone stitching and you fall all over yourself trying to order it! LOL

Did you think of a space heater for your back room. I had to buy one for my sewing room because it's in the basement and it gets darned cold down there. We got it at Costco or Sams, inexpensive, and boy does it warm up a room. I'm glad to see that you have a sewing area now. Have to see what blocks or quilt you're working on!

Sherry said...

Freelove is looking wonderful! I love your little space you have set up for your quilting! I have a hard time trying to choose whether to stitch or sew now! Not enough time in the day! It is funny we both decided to start up our quilting again at the same time.

Nancy said...

This is going to be a gorgeous sampler! Any progress is good progress!

Siobhán said...

I'm lovin' your Freelove!! ;) It really is pretty.

I hear you on the hesitation to jump back into quilting. My mind wants to do it, but I just haven't done it yet. I like the way you have your space set up! I can't wait to see some quilty WIPs.

mainely stitching said...

Beautiful progress, Margaret. I love the colors. :D

Melissa said...

It's so wonderful your daughter came home after all! I can remember doing those last minute things to my mom too! Good luck with your boy's audition. I'm sure he'll do great.

Possession is nine tenths of the law, so they say? You've staked out your sewing/quilting space and that's great. Can you get a portable heater in there for the fall/winter?

I love the colours on Freelove too! I may have to add her to my list!

Laurie in Iowa said...

I'm really falling hard for the border of Freelove Hazard and the colors too! I've added to my ever growing SL list of 'must haves'.
Sorry to hear about your neck issues. I've discovered that I'm getting older and can no longer spend hours and hours hunched over my sewing machine, cutting board or even stitching. I have to have lots of variety during to day to keep my aches and pains away. It's such a drag getting old. :-)
I think you've found a nice little sewing nook for yourself... maybe you can push some of those mail piles closer to a recycling bin???
You could consider putting a little space heater near you and you could still keep the room closed off.
Wishing your dear son well in his musical pursuits.

woolwoman said...

Margaret - i'm so happy you found a nook for your featherweight - hope your neck feels better soon so you can sew a bit. LOVE the SL sampler - I'm off to look it up! Have fun this week! Mel

Ranae said...

The SL looks lovely, makes me want to add it to my list.
I sure hope your neck gets feeling better

valerie said...

Great progress on Freelove!! So glad you found yourself a sewing nook in the other room even if it's kind of cold. Have you thought of just putting a small portable heater in there?

Sorry to hear you are having neck pain...I hope you feel better soon!

Katrina said...

Freelove is gorgeous, the colors are so pretty.

Glad your daughter got to come home for the weekend and your son had a good rehearsal.

Lana said...

Freelove is really looking amazing!!! Great progress so far! I think I may have to put it on my wish list! =)

Carol said...

That border is probably the prettiest sampler border I've seen, Margaret--I love it!

Your weekend sounds fun with your daughter, too. How was did you like Alice?

Jackie's Stitches said...

Freelove is just gorgeous! I just love the border.

It's always the battle against clutter accumulation around here. If I don't throw mail out right away it seems like it will multiply like guppies.

I'm glad to see you found a spot for your featherweight. Hopefully you'll feel well enough to sew soon!

Margaret said...

Freelove is coming along and looking great I admire those who can do that kind of stitching. Clutter is part of a sewers lot I think, you clear away one mess only to make another, well I do.

Lois said...

What nice progress you're making on Freelove Margaret! Good luck to your son! Looks like a very nice little space you've made for yourself there. Hope you can get back to your quilting soon.

The Scarlett House said...

Okay, your post title just made me laugh, but hey, I'm a child of the freelove generation. I didn't know that you had a back room. I'd sure like to have a look around that whole cool house of yours. Where did you get the IL plates from?

Alice said...

This Freelove is seriously growing on me. So pretty!! Great progress Margaret. Looking forward to see how it "grows". Glad you found yourself some space. There is nothing as bad as being cold when you want to craft.
Alice
xxx

Catherine said...

Freelove is beautiful!

Littlebit said...

I love the way Freelove is coming along, Margaret! Absolutely beautiful. And I'm so glad you cleared out a spot to get some quilting done! Looks like you have wonderful light in there, too.

Nicole said...

Freelove is looking beautiful Margaret! I can't wait to see more! :)

Stitch By Stitch said...

Freelove is coming along so well! Keep up the great progress:)

Michelle said...

Freelove looks awesome - the colors are so bright and fun!! And good for you making yourself a quilting spot - you need that. Just do a little at a time when you can - that will help you to keep from feeling overwhelmed, and help with the neck issue too. Take care of yourself!

Loretta a/k/a Mrs. Pom said...

I am SO happy to have been the little nudge to get you into a better sewing space! I LOVED that porch and always remember a Christmas quilting party there when the McNeils owned it. Now, please come downcounty and help me clean out my little nursery/artroom! Seriously, it's like a storage closet at the moment and I'm afraid I will be featured in that new reality show, "Hoarders"!

corinna said...

those sampler colors are so rich and pretty
glad you had fun with daughter
i love it when the kids suprise me with short happy visits
i think those are more fun than the planned visits
hope things warm up for you soon
smiles
c

Karoline said...

Freelove is looking gorgeous, great progress

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Oooh, oooh, ooooh, I love Freelove! Off to order that, I go! Yours looks fabulous, Margaret. Hope the visit with your DD went well - even if it was last minute and that your DS lesson went well. I have no doubt he'll make states. I love seeing the pics of him playing. Is he going to be Juliard bound?

Brigitte said...

Freelove is so beautiful. You rarely see such a great border on a sampler, it has such lovely motifs and colours.
Let's hope that your neck will feel better soon so that you can continue your quilting.

Carole said...

Hello Margaret. Thank you for visiting my blog today and for leaving such a nice comment about my murals. Your blog is very nice and your samplers are done beautifully! I hope you will come back again for a visit.
take care.
Carole